Adarsha Kutumbam Movie Review:
Venkatesh and Trivikram have worked together on blockbusters like Nuvvu Naaku Nachav and Malliswari, but Trivikram was only the writer for those films. It has taken nearly 20 years for Trivikram to direct Venkatesh for the first time with Adarsha Kutumbam - House No. 47 (AK 47). Produced by Suryadevara Radhakrishna under his Haarika & Hassine Creations banner, the film was released on Friday. Srinidhi Shetty is the female lead, while S Thaman has composed the music. Will their first collaboration become a hit? Here is the story and how the film fares.
Director: Trivikram Srinivas
Cast: Venkatesh, Srinidhi Shetty, Nivetha Pethuraj, Nara Rohith, Rao Ramesh, Sachin Khedekar, Satya, Raghu Babu and others.
Chittibabu (Venkatesh) is an ordinary middle-class man who works in a bank and struggles to keep his family together. He has accumulated huge debts because of his wife Swarna's (Srinidhi Shetty) mistakes, his daughter Sampoorna's (Yuvina) education and his son Sarwa's (Raj Prajwal) health issues. Just when things seem to be getting worse, he also loses his job. At this difficult point, a lottery ticket he purchased is announced as the winner of a ₹100 crore prize. Although the money is yet to reach him, news of his windfall spreads, and real estate businessman Bujji (Raghu Babu) offers him a villa in a gated community, expecting the lottery amount to arrive within a month. Chittibabu and his family begin adjusting to their seemingly luxurious new lifestyle. But their happiness is short-lived when a robbery gang from Bihar learns about the lottery money and targets them. On the night Chittibabu brings the prize money home, six members of the gang break into his house. However, things take an unexpected turn, and all six end up dead at the hands of Chittibabu's family.
Who is Chittibabu, and what is the actual background of his family? How did an ordinary-looking family manage to overpower the gang? What happens when police officer Damodhar Naidu (Nara Rohith) arrives to investigate the missing bodies? And what is Brihaspati's (Rao Ramesh) larger plan behind the entire episode? The film revolves around these questions.
The moment Trivikram Srinivas announced the title of his film with Venkatesh as Adarsha Kutumbam - AK 47, people started comparing it with the recently released Blast, starring Arjun Sarja, Abhirami and Preity Mukhundhan. However, apart from the interval bang, both films are completely different, and even their narratives take different routes. The common point is that the families in both films appear ordinary, but their actual backgrounds are quite different. The title Adarsha Kutumbam is splashed with blood, while the tagline AK-47 itself hints that this is not going to be a typical Trivikram-style family drama.
An ordinary middle-class family taking on a gang of criminals needs a strong reason to make the proceedings believable. Unfortunately, the film does not establish that reason convincingly enough. However, the twist involving a murder committed by the gang in the past brings in the idea of karma returning to haunt them. Trivikram builds the story around this concept, giving the family's actions a larger purpose.
The first half moves along in a light-hearted manner. The age gap between the husband and wife, financial struggles, health issues and family relationships provide enough scope for humour. These portions keep the proceedings reasonably engaging, and the film maintains a pleasant family-drama tone. The interval block, however, changes the film's direction completely. From that point, it shifts into crime and action territory. The narrative follows the police investigation, the gang's attempts to track down the family and Chittibabu's efforts to escape the situation. Eventually, the family finds itself caught between the police and the criminals before the story moves towards its conclusion.
The interval sequence works well and creates curiosity about what is coming next. But the shift in genre may disappoint those expecting the kind of comedy and family entertainment usually associated with Trivikram and Venkatesh. Instead of continuing with the humour, the director serves an action-heavy second half. The police investigation and the internal conflicts within the department do not add much excitement either.
The editing also appears to have affected the flow in a few places. In an attempt to keep the runtime under control, some portions seem to have been trimmed abruptly. As a result, a few scenes lack proper continuity, and certain characters appear to disappear from the narrative without much explanation. Despite these shortcomings, the film manages to offer some satisfaction by revealing the reason behind the family's actions. The idea of karma catching up with the criminals gives the story a certain emotional justification, even if the execution could have been stronger.
When it comes to performances, Venkatesh plays Chittibabu with ease and once again shines with his punchlines and comic timing. He carries the film on his shoulders from beginning to end. Venkatesh is known for his family entertainers and is very comfortable in these portions. His screen presence and familiar style of entertainment remain the film's biggest strengths.
Srinidhi Shetty does justice to her role as Swarna. Her performance is good, and she has dubbed for herself, which works very well. The two children, Yuvina and Raj Prajwal, are equally good in their respective roles. Raghu Babu and Satya provide much-needed laughs in the first and second halves, respectively.
Nivetha Pethuraj, however, does not get a substantial role, making this another disappointing outing for her after Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. Dimple Hayathi's special song also feels like an unnecessary addition. Nara Rohith fits well as a cop, while Rao Ramesh once again shines with his impeccable dialogue delivery. However, the director doesn't make proper use of his character. Brahmaji and Kedar Shankar play Rao Ramesh's assistants and do well in their respective roles. Ananth and Pammi Sai, who are regular faces in Trivikram's films, are also part of the cast.
The biggest drawback of the film is definitely music director S Thaman, who fails to provide either good songs or an effective background score. Interestingly, he delivered hit albums for Trivikram's earlier films, but here he couldn't manage even an average track. Ravi K Chandran's cinematography is impressive, and Kevin Kumar's action choreography deserves appreciation. The production values of S Radha Krishna are also good.
Adarsha Kutumbam starts as a family entertainer but takes an unexpected turn towards crime and action after the interval. While the first half offers some enjoyable moments, the second half does not maintain the same level of engagement. Venkatesh's performance, a few comedy portions and Trivikram's trademark dialogues provide some entertainment. However, the film could have been more effective with stronger writing and better narrative flow. Don't go in with huge expectations, but if you want to watch Venkatesh's familiar style of entertainment and Trivikram's dialogue-driven moments, the film is a one-time watch.
